The Lament of the Orphans
by rayrae118
Summary: A little confrontation between Neal and Gold reveals so much. Snow knew it was a bad idea for her and David to get involved, and yet, she did anyway. Something of a follow up to my other OUAT story. Not quite necessary to read, but it might make more sense if you do.


**I borrowed inspiration for this story from a quote I took from the ABC Family show **_**The Fosters**_**. I heard it, and then a month later, thought, hey, this could work as a **_**Once Upon a Time**_** story! So, here it is. Warning for Charming family fluff. Also, this is something of a follow up to my other OUAT story; it could be read on its own, but I do reference some conversations from that fic. So, just in case you haven't read it, this is an AU Storybrooke from the season two episode Manhattan. There's no Tamara, and Neal didn't come back to Storybrooke with Gold, Emma, and Henry. He showed up a couple days later, he and Emma hashed it out, and they're dating now. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon a Time or The Fosters.**

Snow wasn't quite sure how this had happened. Somehow, a line in the sand had been drawn, with Emma and Neal on one side, and her, David, and… Gold?... on the other.

It really wasn't her fight. She hadn't meant to get involved. She wasn't even sure what had started the fight in the first place.

All she knew was that Gold and Neal had been arguing about something, while Emma watched, looking at Gold with an expression that was half disgust half raw fury.

She and David, walking home from Granny's after dinner, had headed in their direction, hoping to diffuse the situation. Needless to say, it hadn't worked very well.

As they drew closer, they were able to hear the last comment Neal threw at his father.

"You have no right to say that! You abandoned me. You lied, so stop trying to act like an apology will automatically fix everything!"

Snow quickened her pace, dragging David along with her. Gold could get nasty when he was angry, and she didn't want to find out if his rage would be tempered by the fact it was his son standing in front of him.

"How dare you. I'm your father, Bae! No matter what, I'll always be your father."

"No you're not!" Emma joined in, glaring at Gold in a way that would cause the most hardened of criminals to back down. Even Gold flinched, though stood his ground.

Snow and David finally joined them, both wincing at what they heard their daughter say. Both remembered the confrontation they had had with her a few weeks earlier, when David had gone perhaps a step too far in trying to protect her. In his defense, he was her father, and it was his job, but she hadn't quite seen it that way. Well, maybe she was right, and he had gone too far. But it had still hurt, to hear her tell him that he wasn't her father. They were doing better now, and after taking a step (or three) back, David had to admit, he liked Neal.

"What is going on here?" Snow asked, looking between the three people, trying to get some sort of clue as to what had caused this shouting match.

No one answered her, and simply kept on arguing.

"I haven't needed you since I was a teenager, _Gold_, so stay out of my life. I'm finally happy, and my family doesn't include you."

Gold took a half a step forward, but David's cautioning look kept him from doing any more.

Neal looked like he was gearing up for a fight, until Emma rested a hand lightly on his arm. He looked over at her, and she shook her head slightly. He quirked one side of his mouth up, and relaxed, just a little.

This only fueled Gold's anger, but with the Sheriff and Deputy Sheriff standing right there, there wasn't much he could do. When he looked at his son again, the fight seemed to drain out of him. Even when Bae had been a teenager, when he had realized just what his father had done as the Dark One, he had never looked at him with that much hate.

It was more than just hate. It was raw, unbridled fury. But there was hurt there as well. Years of pain and anger and sorrow and misery. A life lived without Gold in it. A child, forced to grow up too fast. Looking at Emma, he saw the same emotions. A kindred soul. They had been drawn together because of their similarities. They had stayed together because they completed each other. They had depended on each other. After years of keeping everyone out, they had forced the other to let them in.

His shoulders slumped. "Bae, can't you understand that all I did, I did because I loved you?"

Neal clenched his teeth. "You broke a promise. You promised me, _papa._ I trusted you. I believed you."

Snow stepped forward. "I'm sure this is just a simple –"

"Stay out of it, Mary Margaret," Emma cut her off, eyes flashing as she looked at her parents.

Snow gulped and did as her daughter told her. David, however, wasn't quite willing to let their daughter get away with speaking to her mother that way.

"Emma," his voice was sharp, "That's no way to speak to your mother."

Emma glared at him, and David would never admit that those accusing eyes sent shivers down his spine. "You have no idea what it is you're interrupting. I would suggest you both go home."

"No," Snow replied firmly. "If there's an issue, we'd like to help resolve it."

Emma laughed derisively. "There's no resolving this. Gold's made his bed. Now he has to lie in it."

Neal nodded, agreeing. "I don't want to try, Gold. I doubt you've changed at all, and I just don't have the energy to waste."

Emma leaned in closer to her boyfriend, drawing strength from him, and giving him strength in return. "You know the problem with being alone your whole life," her eyes ghosted over to Snow and David, before returning to Gold. "You keep letting people in, because you think that this time, it might be different. But you let them in anyway. And it hurts," her voice choked up, the threat of tears making itself known to the group. "At a certain point, you just have to stop."

"Emma, we understand," Snow tried to pacify her daughter, feeling her own tears leak from her eyes and leave wet tracks down her cheeks. "We know, and we're so sorry –"

But Emma cut her off, once more. She stiffened, a few tears escaping. She hadn't cried in so long, not over her past. But they didn't understand. They couldn't. "No you don't. You don't know what it's like to wonder why." Neal was the one to lay a hand on her arm now, comforting her. "Why the people who brought you into this world, the people who were supposed to love you more than anyone else… didn't."

There was a heavy silence after that. Emma clenched her teeth, willing the tears to stop. Of course, they didn't. "You don't know what it's like to wonder why you weren't enough." She snorted lightly. "Not good enough, not smart enough, not behaved enough, not… not anything enough. You know, I went to a lot of schools growing up, and I'd always hear kids talk about their parents, complaining about every miniscule thing, and I just wanted to tell them to shut up. At least yours are there!"

She sniffed angrily, and refocused her attention on Gold now. The man was looking more than a little uncomfortable, and slightly guilty. "So don't you stand there, Gold, and try to force your way back into Neal's life. You abandoned him, and if _he_ wants you back, he'll let you know."

Neal led her away after that, whispering something in her ear, most likely, soothing words meant to calm her down.

David sighed, and hugged his wife, comforting her. "I thought things were getting better," Snow whispered into his jacket, sobbing lightly. "I thought she forgave us, I thought she understood."

David sighed. "She does. I think that's part of the problem." Snow pulled back, looking at him, confused. Gold also didn't seem to follow the Prince's train of thought. "She understands why we had to do it, but she still went through all those years, wondering why. She thought her parents didn't want her, and she made her peace with that. But to find out after twenty eight years that we wanted her more than anything?" He shook his head. "I want her back. I want my little girl back, but she's not a child, Snow." He looked over at Gold. "Neither is Neal. He's a good man, but he's not the teenager you knew all those years ago. We can't keep acting like nothing has changed."

Gold sighed, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he looked at the ground. "I've regretted leaving him every day since I made that mistake. I just want a chance to make up for it."

"Just take a step back," David advised. "You're a little forceful, Rumplestiltskin, you have to admit it. Neal's not ready to let you back in. You have to wait for him."

Gold nodded a little forlornly. He just wanted his son back.

Snow sniffed. "You know, if Emma were here, she'd tell you to stop trying to make up for it, because you can't. It happened, so get over it. She'd tell you to just try to be a better father in the future, so maybe that's what you should do. Just be a better man, Gold. The rest should follow."

Gold looked startled, but seemed to think about her suggestion, which could only be a good thing. He headed back in the direction of his shop, and David and Snow went back to their apartment.

Surprisingly, Emma and Neal were sitting on the couch, whispering quietly. They stopped as soon as David and Snow entered.

Emma stood up, facing her parents with a slightly guilty expression on her face. Neal followed her lead, staying no more than half a step away from her, acting as her support, if she needed it.

"Where's Henry?" Snow asked, looking around the apartment. She realized that she hadn't seen her grandson at all today.

Emma shifted slightly. "At Regina's for the night," she replied, glancing between her parents, looking for some signal that would tell her of their mental status. She had learned early on how to read people. She had to know when to duck, after all.

The four of them stood there awkwardly for a few moments, before David and Snow joined them in the living room area.

"Emma –"

"Look, I'm –"

Snow and Emma both cut off, looking at each other, amused, as they both tried to speak at the same time.

Emma sighed. "I'm sorry," she said ruefully. "I was just a little wired up from Gold, I didn't mean to say all that."

David noted with interest that she hadn't said that she didn't mean it. She just hadn't meant to say it. He wondered if she realized what she had said as well. Looking at her expression – half guilt, half resolve – he thought she might.

Snow smiled at her daughter. "We do get it, Emma. You were right, we can't understand, but we do get why you're having a hard time with this." She glanced over at her husband. "I think David even talked some sense into Gold."

David shrugged. "You did just as much as me," he gave some credit to his wife. He then looked back at his daughter and her boyfriend, both of whom looked relieved. "He does regret his choices, Neal, but like Emma told us several weeks ago, he's trying too hard. That's what we told him. Whenever you're ready, he'll be waiting."

Neal sighed. He was exhausted, and didn't want to deal with his father any more tonight.

Emma, understanding, jerked her head towards the stairs. Neal smiled and gave her a peck on the lips before he made his way up to the bedroom he was now sharing with her. He paused as he reached the bottom of the stairs, and looked back at Snow and David. "Thank you," he said simply, before disappearing up the stairs.

Emma bit her lip. "I know you love me, now." David and Snow looked at her, waiting for her to continue. "I just… growing up, I just couldn't figure out why my parents gave me up. Why they didn't care. I asked myself so many times why I wasn't good enough."

"Oh, honey, you were more than enough," Snow cried, rushing over to give her daughter a hug. "We're so sorry."

Emma stood there awkwardly. She had probably been hugged more since her arrival in Storybrooke than she had her whole life before that. After a few moments, she managed to wrap her arms around Snow, hugging her back clumsily.

David joined the family hug, willing himself not to cry. Tears were very unmanly, after all, and he was a prince.

They pulled apart shortly afterwards, and Emma wiped her eyes, sniffling.

David rested a hand on her shoulder, and waited until she looked up at him before he spoke. "Emma, I can't even begin to imagine what you went through, but I'm your father, and I want to know. Whatever you're comfortable sharing, we're here for you, and we'll listen."

Emma nodded hesitantly. She had never considered telling them, especially after finding out they were her parents. Why did they need to know all the shit she had gone through?

_Because they love you_ an annoying voice whispered in the back of her mind. _Because they could help you heal._

_I have healed_, she argued back. She didn't need to hear the first voice let out that snort to know that she didn't believe it.

"Maybe you should."

They all looked up to see Neal descending the staircase, dressed for sleep. He joined Emma once more, grasping her hand tightly as he looking into her eyes.

Her eyes were always so expressive. One look, and he could always tell what she was feeling. Right now, she was scared, but there was also a hint of accusation there, as she looked at him.

He sighed. "Emma, when you were sixteen, I could read you like a book. You weren't even close to getting over it, and don't try to deny it. Who was it who calmed you down every night after your woke up screaming?"

Emma opened her mouth to speak, but Neal kept going, shifting his body slightly so that he was standing between her and her parents. His other hand reached out to grasp hers. He was standing so close their bodies were touching, and his voice was soft, pleading. "And don't try to tell me that it was a long time ago, and you've grown up, or whatever, because I had to wake you up from a nightmare two nights ago."

Snow and David weren't sure how to handle this. Knowing that it hadn't been a happy childhood was one thing, but to hear that she was still affected, years later?

Neal sighed, and leaned forward slightly, resting his forehead on hers. "Emma, keeping quiet only gives them power." His voice was barely above a whisper, and Snow and David had to strain to hear him. "Don't let them have it. Those assholes don't deserve it." He could sense her resolve wavering, and so he pressed forward, unrelenting. "Don't give Keller any more power over you. You've let him win long enough."

Emma wilted, almost collapsing onto the sofa. She buried her face in her hands, her elbows resting on her knees. Neal sat next to her, resting one hand on her back, and the other on her leg.

David and Snow sat down as well, waiting for their daughter to compose herself.

It took a while, but eventually, Emma straightened up. She leaned back on the couch, trying to relax. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to be working.

"Emma?"

Emma looked up at Snow. Her mother's voice was soft.

"All we want is to help. Anything you want to tell us."

Emma bit her lip and nodded slightly. And slowly, as the night grew deeper, and dawn began to hint on the horizon, she spoke. Starting from the beginning, she told her parents about her life. Neal never relinquished his grasp on her leg, and as she talked, he moved his hand to grasp hers, offering what support he could. She had told him most of her demons, back when they had first known each other, and he had tried to help her as best he could. He liked to think that he was pretty good at it, so he just sat there, holding her, and letting her get it all out.

She stumbled a little over a few periods of time – her twelfth birthday and the few weeks after it were a black hole she wished to never revisit, though she did give her parents an overview. Neal had, after all, mentioned Keller, foster father number eight, so she should probably tell them who he was.

David made a motion to stand up at hearing what that… that monster, had done to his baby girl, but Snow dragged him back down. She seemed to be leaning on him for support just as much as Emma was on Neal. Both of them were crying as Emma moved passed that period of time, covering the next few years as concisely as possible.

Dawn was breaking for real by the time she finished. Snow wasted no time in rushing to her daughter's side, hugging her tightly as Neal moved back slightly, allowing the two women to have their space. David moved over as well, and Neal, knowing his girlfriend's father needed to hold his daughter, stood up to let the family have a minute alone.

And sandwiched between her parents, for the first time in her whole life, Emma let her guard down completely. The tears started falling, thick and fast, as Snow and David held her, refusing to let go. She had been alone for so long, she had become used to the idea that she couldn't trust anyone else. But these were her parents. After twenty eight years, she finally knew what it felt like to be held by her mother. To have the hurts soothed away by her father. He may never have kissed away a booboo from a fall off her bicycle, but he was here now, and he would take a sword to anyone who threatened her. She knew, without a doubt, that he would die for her. It was a strange feeling, a sort of warmth she had never felt before.

When Emma was cried out, she slumped down on the sofa, nearly asleep already.

David smoothed her hair back and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, before he scooped her up and carried her up the stairs, tucking her in before rejoining his wife and Neal downstairs.

Neal was looking at the ceiling above them, as if he could keep an eye on Emma even from down here.

David immediately reached for his wife upon his return. Snow grabbed him tightly, burrowing her face in his shoulder. The prince looked over at Neal, who was wearing an expression of great pain on his face.

"Thank you, Neal." When Neal looked confused, David elaborated. "Thank you for getting her to tell us. We can't change it, and I will probably feel guilty until the end of time, but we needed to know."

Neal sighed, and shifted slightly. "Emma loves you, and she's really happy to have parents. I know it might not always look it, but she does feel that way. It's just… her past isn't pretty. It's messy, and gritty, and it taught her some pretty hard lessons. Lessons no one should have to learn, let alone when they're twelve, or younger." He stopped for a moment, collecting his thoughts. When he had them in order, he stood up and took a deep breath. "I love her, so much. When we first met, we had this connection, and it had more to do with the both of us stealing the same car." He snorted. "I could tell that she knew what it was like to be abandoned, and I could see how much pain she was in. All I wanted to do was fix it, make it better. I still do, but as important as I am to her, sometimes, what a girl really needs is her parents. She wanted to trust you already. She wanted to let you in. She just needed a little push."

His expression changed, looking almost scary. "I swear though, if you let her down, that'll be it. She won't give you another chance."

David nodded, understanding, and after a moment of silence, Neal headed upstairs to get some rest.

Emma was resting peacefully, a small smile on her face as she slept. Neal climbed into bed beside her, and snaked an arm around her waist. He felt a sense of calm, watching her. The past wasn't magically gone, she wasn't automatically better, but it was a step in the right direction. She had a support system now, people whom she could rely on, and talk to, if it ever got too bad. She had been running from it for so long, but maybe now, she could finally heal.

As he drifted off to sleep, he thought that just maybe, with a family like this, he might be able to as well.

With the girl lying next to him by his side, he knew he could tackle anything. She had once told him that he made her believe in happily ever after again. And he had to admit, she did the same for him. She took that broken abandoned kid, and showed him all the good that life could bring.

If there was one thing that Neal knew for certain, it was that Emma Swan was special. She was amazing. And as long as he still drew breath, he would never let her go.

_So… let me know what you think!_


End file.
